Director General hails meeting outcome

The Director General of the Vailima-based Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P), Leota Kosi Latu, has hailed the outcome of Green Climate Fund Board meeting in Apia.

With three multi-million projects proposed by Pacific countries being approved – including two involving Samoa (read story) – Leota is a happy man. "This is a great achievement for the Pacific islands as a whole," Leota said in a statement from S.P.R.E.P.

"Resourcing to help our Pacific islands cope with the impacts of climate change and transition away from dirty and expensive fossil fuels is needed.

“Having these three projects approved will make a real difference. I congratulate all parties involved in making this happen with the G.C.F and look forward to seeing more projects like this in the future."

One of the projects approved is a US$23 million dollar grant for a Climate Information Services for Resilient Development for Vanuatu.

The project will support ongoing resilient development in Vanuatu through capacity development for effective application of climate information in development planning and implementation.

The project has a focus on addressing information gaps and priority needs of target beneficiaries at national, provincial and local community levels across five sectors: tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, water and fisheries.

"We congratulate Vanuatu and our partners that have supported this process including the C.S.I.R.O, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and A.P.E.C Climate Centre on this project approval," said Leota.

"Now, more than ever, science based information can help inform decisions made by our Pacific governments and communities, especially in the face of climate change impacts which provide a constant challenge for many of us in the islands.

"This is a monumental occasion for us as our first project, being the only regional implementing entity for the Pacific and we look forward to even greater achievements to come with our Pacific island members, achievements that will be for the better of our Pacific communities."

The Climate Information Services for Resilient Development Project will span .